Photo : BSS

By SM Zahid Hossain

KHULNA, Oct 3, 2025 (BSS) – Bidhan Mondal, 42, a farmer from Paikgachha upazila, is drawing wide attention by cultivating 173 varieties of local and foreign fruits and vegetables within a year.

With assistance from the Department of Agriculture (DoE), Mondal aims to set an example in Khulna as well as across the country by promoting the cultivation of more foreign fruits and vegetables in the saline-prone coastal belt.

Once considered wasteland filled with trees, rats, and venomous snakes, the banks of the Dihibura canal under polder no. 22 in Paikgachha upazila have now turned into a belt of greenery. With the initiative of a young canal leaseholder, Bidhan Mondal, and the guidance of agricultural officials, a farming revolution is underway in the area.

Mondal, a resident of Purba Gajalia of the upazila, leased the 15-acre government canal primarily for fish farming. However, instead of confining it to fisheries, he used the adjoining 33 acres of abandoned canal banks to cultivate fruits and vegetables during the monsoon.

While talking to BSS, Mondal said he has introduced both local and foreign crop varieties, including off-season watermelon, rock melon (sammam), pumpkin, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, yard-long beans, and many other vegetables—altogether 173 types.

Currently, the canal banks are lined with green trellises where 11 varieties of off-season watermelon, eight types of rock melon, and six types of pumpkin are thriving. Mondal said around 30,000 watermelon plants have been cultivated, with an expected harvest of 60,000–65,000 fruits, each weighing between 2.5 kg and 8.5 kg.

Additionally, 24,000 rock melon plants are producing three to four fruits each, weighing between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms.

With the market price set at Tk 60 per kg, Mondal expects to earn another Tk 15 lakh. He has already begun marketing about 200 kilograms of bitter gourd, bottle gourd, and other vegetables weekly.

Mondal explained that his seeds were sourced from YouTube-based farming groups and that he applied organic fertilizers along with quality crop protection chemicals from Syngenta to prevent disease.

“So far, my total investment stands at Tk 36 lakh, but the returns will exceed Tk 10 lakh if everything goes as planned,” he said.

The initiative has also created daily employment opportunities for 40–45 men and women, while previously idle landowners are now benefiting from the commercial farming on their land.

“I have cultivated vegetables like Japanese pumpkin and Thailand’s rutabaga, locally known as Thai Agniswar Kachu (a variety of kachu), which can be eaten both cooked and uncooked,” he said.

“I have cultivated fruits and vegetables by planting both local and foreign seeds,” he added, noting that the foreign seeds were collected from Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Recalling his early life, he said, “After my father’s death in 1998, I passed through hardship with my mother, younger brother, and sister. In my adolescence, I started fish farming on barren land. Later, with advice from the local DoE and UNO, I began vegetable and fruit farming on government fallow land through a lease last year.”

“Now, I am living with financial solvency with my eight-member family, including my mother, siblings, wife, daughter, and son,” he added.

Local residents, including Sanjay Bala, Nirmal Bala, and Gourpada Bala, praised Mondal for transforming the unused canal banks into a profitable agricultural hub.

Despite his success, Mondal highlighted one major challenge: poor road connectivity.

“Transportation of produce to markets is risky and costly due to inadequate communication infrastructure. I urge the authorities to address this issue urgently,” he said.

He also urged the authorities concerned to construct a 2-kilometer road from Kalinagar to Durgapore in the upazila for better communication facilities.

With harvesting scheduled to begin in the next 10–12 days, Paikgachha’s off-season watermelon and rock melon project is being seen as a model of smart farming, inspiring hope for commercial agriculture in Khulna’s canal-based landscapes.

Talking to BSS, Ekramul Hossain, Paikgachha Upazila Agriculture Officer, said that Bidhan Mondal is creating a revolution by farming 173 types of fruits and vegetables.

“It’s a new example in the saline-prone lands where foreign varieties of fruits and vegetables are growing,” he added.

Paikgachha UNO Mahera Naznin said Bidhan is a role model for cultivating multiple varieties of fruits and vegetables simultaneously. “Other farmers are now showing keen interest in cultivating various agro crops in their farmland,” she said.

Talking to BSS, Rafiqul Islam, Additional Director of Khulna Agriculture Zone, said, “We are advising farmers to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables alongside fish farming.”

He added that many farmers are now starting cultivation of diverse vegetables and fruits, alongside paddy and fish farming in the Khulna agri zone, with the aim of earning significant profits and changing the scenario of the coastal districts across the country.